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In response to the ongoing crisis caused by coronavirus, the Department of Labor is charged with implementing new emergency sick leave requirements that apply to all employers with under 500 employees, with some exceptions (see below). The new law goes into effect on April 2. Essentially, there are two parts to the new law: Mandatory...Read More

I’ve been getting a lot of questions from small business owners recently about two related topics: 1. how to reimburse employees for business expenses, and 2. how to claim the home office deduction. Both of these questions can be answered by using something called an accountable plan. A recent article in the AICPA’s Journal of...Read More

The $1.4 trillion spending package enacted on December 20, 2019, included the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act, which had overwhelmingly passed the House of Representatives in the spring of 2019, but then subsequently stalled in the Senate. The SECURE Act represents the most sweeping set of changes to retirement legislation in...Read More

A tax credit reduces the amount of income tax you may have to pay. Unlike a deduction, which reduces the amount of income subject to tax, a credit directly reduces the tax itself. Most tax credits are nonrefundable: If the credit amount exceeds the tax owed, no refund is given. Refundable credits are different: If...Read More

As the end of the year is fast approaching, we should consider any last-minute strategies that might help reduce your 2019 tax bill. Last year was the first year to be impacted by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA). While there was no significant new legislation in 2019 affecting individual taxes, situations...Read More

As the year draws to a close, it’s time for us to discuss whether there are any last-minute actions we can take to reduce your business-related 2019 tax liability. The actions necessary will depend on the year-end estimate of your business taxable income. Section 179 Expensing and Bonus Depreciation Two of the biggest tax incentives...Read More

UPDATE 12/28/19: For a detailed walkthrough and instructions for completing the new W-4 for 2020, please read this article. In response to the shock of some taxpayers who are still reeling from the amount due with their 2018 tax returns, the IRS has published a draft of the updated Form W-4, which is used to...Read More

Health savings accounts (HSAs) are used in conjunction with high deductible health plans and offer five tax advantages compared to traditional savings accounts: Your own contributions to the HSA are tax-deductible in the current year. Employer contributions to the HSA are excluded from income. Earnings inside the HSA (i.e. interest, dividends, and capital gains) are...Read More

What is tax conformity? Tax conformity is a state’s adoption of the federal definitions of income, as contained in the Internal Revenue Code (IRC). For individuals, it’s the calculation of federal adjusted gross income; for businesses, it’s federal taxable income. Traditionally, Virginia adopts those definitions as of a fixed date — usually, but not always,...Read More